


Surprise

by OzQueen



Series: babysitters100 [43]
Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Genre: Adventure, Babysitting, Childhood, Community: babysitters100, Gen, One Shot, Pirates, Treasure Hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-20
Updated: 2013-10-20
Packaged: 2017-12-29 23:03:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1011154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OzQueen/pseuds/OzQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stoneybrook has a rich history, and Claudia and Jamie have a pirate's map...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> So I was kind of making fun of some of the events that happen in the BSC books - and then my brain went, "there'd totally be pirates in the Stoneybrook of yore." Combine that with my sudden need for fluff and baby-sitting competency fic and IDK, this is what happened.
> 
> I have taken a few liberties with canon - mostly, location, and Jamie Newton's conversational skills. (That didn't actually take much stretching, but you shouldn't come into this expecting anything more realistic!)

* * *

"Wow," Jamie breathed, his eyes wide. His fingers curled against the scrubbed wood of the kitchen table. "A real pirate map."

Claudia nodded solemnly. "Leading to real pirate treasure," she said. "Your mom is going to be gone most of the afternoon. Do you think we can find it by the time she gets home?"

Jamie sucked in a quivery breath. "Really?"

"Well, if you want to," Claudia said with a shrug. "We could do something else instead."

"No, I want to find treasure!" Jamie cried. He leaned over the map again, which was spread across the table between them.

Claudia was proud of it – she'd found some heavy parchment paper rolled up and stuffed away on the bottom shelf of an art supply store a few weeks ago. She hadn't been able to decide how to use it, until she'd been booked to baby-sit Jamie Newton for a full afternoon. Jamie was dealing with the idea of a little brother or sister somewhat better, but Claudia had still felt the need to surprise him with something special. So she'd spent an afternoon aging the parchment with tea and painstakingly mapping and inking details for a treasure hunt.

"What does this say?" Jamie asked, pointing to the scrawl across the top.

"Hickory Wood," Claudia whispered, bending close. "It's not too far from here, see? Elm Street finishes at the end of the next block, and there's a trail that leads into the woods. If we follow the map, I'll bet we'll find the treasure."

Jamie gave a little squeak, his fingers hovering just above the map, not quite daring to touch.

"Come on," Claudia said. "Get your coat, and we'll figure out where we need to go first."

* * *

Jamie gripped Claudia's hand and shivered a little as he peered through the trees. "In there?" he asked doubtfully.

Claudia had heard stories that Hickory Wood was haunted. (Most things named after the Hickory family were said to be haunted.) But she'd been in the woods plenty of times – including a quick trip earlier that morning – and the scariest thing that had ever happened to her was when she'd been startled by a squirrel.

"We don't have to, Jamie," Claudia said gently.

The woods did look a little spooky. A few of the trees at the edge had new green buds along their slender branches, but those further in were still bare, sharp lines stark against the cloudy sky, gnarled branches twisting into grotesque shapes.

Jamie tightened his grip on Claudia's hand, looking unsure. "I guess pirates have to hide their treasure in places like this," he whispered. "Scary places."

"It's not that scary," she said lightly. "Anyway, the map says to follow the trail for most of the way. The trail isn't dangerous."

Jamie nodded, and Claudia helped him through the split-rail fence. They walked into the woods together, their feet silent on the damp dirt path through the trees, Claudia resting a short-handled spade over her shoulder. She had entrusted the map to Jamie, and he kept it clenched in his other hand. Now and then he'd tug her to a stop, and they'd consult the map seriously, heads together, breath damp between them in the cold afternoon air.

"Is it going to be buried very deep?" Jamie asked as they marched on again.

"I don't know," Claudia answered. "Maybe."

"Can I help dig it up?"

"Sure."

"What if there's a guard? A pirate guard?"

"I think the map is pretty old, Jamie. I think whoever drew it must have died a long, long time ago. Besides, there are no pirates in Stoneybrook these days."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I know for a fact that we're the only two people who know about the map."

Jamie swung their clasped hands back and forth between them, lost in thought for a moment. "How come pirates bury their treasure, anyways?"

"To keep it safe. It's probably stolen treasure. I bet the pirate wanted it hide it somewhere until people stopped thinking about it so much. Then he'd go back and dig it up."

"And then he'd be rich."

"Uh-huh."

"How'd you get the map, Claudia?" Jamie asked curiously. "Are you friends with a pirate?"

"I found it when I was researching stuff for a school project," Claudia said. "Hey, are we still headed the right way?"

They stopped to consult the map again. Jamie traced the thin dotted line with his finger, winding its way between black-inked trees. "Are we?" he asked, unsure.

"I think we're close to this tree here," Claudia said, pointing to the first marker – a towering elm tree with wide, twisting branches. It leaned over a fork in the path – one trail winding away to the left, where it would eventually emerge into the field behind the old Stoneybrook Cemetery.

Claudia didn't necessarily believe the stories about haunted Hickory Wood, but she wasn't going to take any chances, either. They followed the map and took the path to the right, away from the cemetery.

The sun had come out and was starting to shine through the wood, striped shadows netted across the ground, which was still wet from earlier rain. Jamie had lost most of his apprehension by now, and was almost bouncing as he kept pace with Claudia.

"What do you think the treasure is?" he asked.

"I don't know. It could be anything. What do you think?"

"I hope it's gold," Jamie said breathlessly. "Do you think the Stoneybrook pirates had gold?"

"Probably," Claudia said. She adjusted the spade over her shoulder. "What would you do with it?" she asked. "If we found some?"

"I'd buy G.I. Joes and candy," Jamie said immediately. "What would you buy?"

"I'd buy candy too," Claudia said, grinning at him.

* * *

Jamie gripped Claudia's hand tightly, eyes wide. "It says X," he whispered loudly.

"Yeah." Claudia had painted a black 'X' on the trunk of the tree that morning. The rain had washed most of the paint away since, but it wasn't completely erased. It had, in fact, loaned a nice, aged look to it.

"I don't see any guards," Jamie whispered.

"Yeah, I think we're safe," Claudia agreed. "Do you want to dig?"

"No," Jamie said, gripping the map tightly. "You do it. I'll keep watch."

"Okay."

Claudia dug slowly, with shallow strokes of the spade. She hadn't buried the tin too deep, but the earth was soft, and it wouldn't take long to find the treasure.

When the spade bit against the top of the tin, Jamie gave a leap of excitement, all fear of pirate guards forgotten. "We found it!" he shouted. "Quick, quick!"

They knelt on the ground together and dusted the rest of the dark dirt away from the top of the old tin Claudia had buried that morning. She'd found it in the charity store downtown – what it had been originally used for, Claudia had no idea, but it had a picture of a sailing ship on the front of it.

"Wow!" Jamie breathed, tracing the outline of the ship with a dirty finger.

"Let's see if we can get it open," Claudia whispered.

She opened it just enough to break the tight seal of the lid – Jamie pulled it open, letting the lid drop back against the upturned earth.

Claudia watched him, grinning. It had been worth getting up early just to see the look of wonder and excitement on his face.

"Pirate gold!" Jamie squealed. He picked up one of the giant, foil-covered chocolate coins Claudia had donated to this particular adventure. "Three of them!"

"And jewels!" Claudia said, catching his enthusiasm despite being in on the surprise all along.

Long coils of leftover beads and gems from art and jewellery projects had been placed into the tin – smooth and shiny, jagged and glinting. Two long feathers – one red and green, another blue and yellow – sat nestled against one another on top of a black square of material painted with a white skull and crossbones.

"Parrot feathers!" Jamie cried. "And a pirate flag!"

"It really is a pirate's treasure!" Claudia said excitedly.

They spent some time going through everything, Jamie cupping the jewels in his hands and spreading the pirate flag over his knees, until the sun shrank behind the clouds again, the sky suddenly threatening rain.

"We'd better go back," Claudia said, and she glanced at her watch. "Your mom will be home soon."

"Okay," Jamie agreed. They tipped everything back into the tin – adding the map to their treasure – and filled the hole in again. Jamie stamped the earth back down firmly and took Claudia's hand again, his palm gritty and dirty, the tin tucked firmly against his chest.

"How much is three pieces of gold, Claudia?" he asked.

"I really don't know," Claudia said, secretly hoping it took Jamie a very long time to discover the gold was actually chocolate.

"I'll ask Daddy," Jamie decided. "He'll know."

They made it back to the house just before the sky opened again and rain poured down. Claudia dusted off the tin as best as she could, and then took Jamie upstairs to wash his hands. They heard the front door open and close just as they were toweling their hands dry.

"Hello!" Mrs Newton called.

"Mommy!" Jamie cried. He took off, Claudia calling a reminder after him not to run down the stairs. She watched him sit and slide hurriedly down the stairs, hands bracing each bump.

Mrs Newton laughed. "You're in a hurry."

"We found pirate treasure!" Jamie cried, flinging himself at her and wrapping his arms around her legs.

Claudia explained their adventure as Jamie pried the tin open and thrust it up into his mother's hands.

"Goodness me," Mrs Newton said, smiling. "Look at this!"

"We got kind of dirty," Claudia added guiltily, noticing the dark patches of dirt on Jamie's knees.

Mrs Newton laughed. "Don't worry about it, Claudia." She smiled down at Jamie. "So you've had a great day with Claudia?"

"The best day," Jamie confirmed, pulling the feathers out of the tin again and running them through his fingers. "How much is pirate gold, Mommy?"

"Hm," Mrs Newton said thoughtfully. She smiled again as she unfolded the pirate flag. "I'll have to check with Daddy, but I think it will be enough for a trip to the zoo on Saturday."

Jamie's face lit up like Christmas. "Oh _boy_!" he cried.

Mrs Newton laughed. "Honey, why don't you take the treasure into the living room. We'll take a closer look in a moment. Say goodbye and thank you to Claudia."

"Bye!" Jamie said, piling everything back into the tin again. "Thanks for baby-sitting me, Claudia."

"You're welcome, Jamie," Claudia said with a smile. "I had a lot of fun today."

"Me too," Jamie said. "If you find any other pirate maps, will you tell me?"

"You'll be the first one I tell, I promise," Claudia said seriously.

Jamie gave her a hug before he ran into the living room, the treasure rattling in his hands.

"Thank you, Claudia," Mrs Newton said with a smile. She reached for her purse. "Jamie's been a little withdrawn lately, what with the baby coming." She patted her stomach. "It's nice to see him acting like his old self again."

"Today was fun," Claudia answered. She lowered her voice, just in case Jamie was listening. "Making the map and the treasure was fun anyway, but I'm glad Jamie enjoyed it."

"Me too," Mrs Newton said. "And I'll second his request – if you ever find another map, I hope you'll share it with him."

"Definitely," Claudia promised with a grin. "Maybe next time we'll find an old genie lamp."


End file.
